Boy swept out to sea 'false alarm'

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The search for an 11-year-old boy reportedly swept out to sea has ended without success but police say they don't believe anyone is lost at sea.

Police said at 1.54pm they were notified the boy was swept from Takapuna Beach on Auckland's North Shore near a boat ramp.

The member of the public who rang through the emergency said they were doing so at the request of the boy's father.

Police and the Westpac rescue helicopter immediately started a search. Nothing was found.

Police spoke to people on the beach including a large number of kite surfers.

Inspector Ian Brooker said police were being extra cautious by alerting the public but he was "pretty happy" that no-one was at sea.

He said many people at the scene had called police.

"One of these was the father of a 15-year-old who is a strong swimmer but had been lost to sight for a short time in the choppy conditions," Brooker said.

"The man asked a group of surfers to keep an eye out for his son.

''One of these surfers has in turn asked a member of the public to phone police. The youth came out of the water a short time later and father and son left the beach not knowing the police had been contacted.''